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By Barbara Brown
North Branch gymnastics team members will have a new place to practice next year which will give them the room they need as a growing team while keeping safety in mind.
The North Branch school board agreed to allow the North Branch gymnastics program to rent space from Sunrise Gymnastics.
The club is part of Bearly Big Gymnastics and will occupy a workout area being built in the North Branch Industrial Park.
North Branch activities director Becky Leuer told the board members at their regular meeting last Thursday, May 13, that not only could the North Branch team enjoy more space and easier set up and break down for practices, but the Sunrise club would benefit by renting the school districtís equipment, which would be stored in the Industrial Park site.
Total cost of the option is $5,500 per year with renting space costing the district $6,000 per year and the district receiving $500 per year for allowing Sunrise to use the equipment.
Some of the reasons for taking the option, Leuer told the board included increasingly tough competition for the North Branch team.
ìEvery year we fall further and further behind because of our facility,î Leuer said.
The Minnesota State High School League has made using a spring floor a requirement to host meets ñ a key piece of equipment the school district does not own but that Sunrise would have.
ìIf we didnít do something like this, weíd probably lose this program within five years,î Leuer said, ìbecause we simply canít keep up with everyone else.î
The new agreement would give North Branch team members 2 hours of practice immediately after school with no limit on the number of practices during the season.
The team previously practiced in one half of the small gym in North Branch High School. The other half of the gym was taken by the wrestling team. This will give both wrestling and gymnastics more space to improve their skills as their teams grow in participants.
The North Branch team also would be able to host meets at the Sunrise building where Sunrise Gymnastics Academy would work the concession stand and retain any profit.
This plan would apply only for the 2004-2005 school year with a review by Leuer, Sunrise Gymnastics and the board to determine whether it is successful.
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